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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Bake Mix Stir

Two of my close friends and I decided to do some large scale cooking. I can't tell you what it does to my heart to be in a professional kitchen. I love the large stove that holds more pots than I own and a counter top that can handle endless cinnamon roll logs.

Our cooking journey started on Tuesdays where we would grab our carts assemble the my two girls into them and stroll the isles looking for the most inexpensive way to make pot roast, pulled pork, roasted chicken or pasta meals. One of my favourite moments was standing up to the grocery manager who mislabeled elephant garlic as colossal garlic. Instead of paying almost $4 a pound we paid half that. Don't mess with us, we are armed with our mixers, sharp knives and nights of recipe hunting. We always ended our shopping days with a Costco lunch with the girls. Our three daughters and the three of us would dip french fries, smother hot dogs and sing endless rounds of ring around the rosie.

I can't tell you how much I looked forward to our shopping and cooking sessions. On Thursdays we roasted garlic, made endless trays of meat balls, hand rolled fragrant rosemary dinner rolls and had the occasional meringue mishap. Our time gave us an opportunity to catch up, giggle, and trade secrets. I learned a lot from my fellow cooks. Here are some lessons learned:

1. Montreal steak spice is a must have. You can use it in meat balls (amazing!), pulled pork and just about any meat dish that needs garlic and onions.

2.A & W root beer. A & W root beer. It deserved a second mention. Libby (one of the cooks) pours a bottle into her slow cooker and cooks her pork shoulder in it. Can someone say AMEN!

3. Homemade dinner rolls are a must. This has become one of my favourite things to make for dinner. When I make dinner rolls for my family, friends, or church it is the equivalent of a cherry on top, a chocolate on your pillow, and a red carpet at the Oscars. It sends the message - you are special. Have a dinner roll. We used the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe and just omitted the sugar and rolling part.

4. Clean up. All three of us brought something valuable to the team. The most valuable member is the woman who cleans/tidies/organizes WHILE she cooks. She does this so well you don't notice - until she is sick and you realize it took you twice as long to make that meal.